Since his youth, José Albañez has wanted only one thing - to follow his father into the joiner's trade. His uncle Domingo, however, draws him, against his will, from his comfortable life in Havana into his Caribbean web of trade and smuggling. After adventures in Jamaica, Saint Domingue, and Santo Domingo, he hopes to escape a life at sea. Then, the arrival of a British fleet in 1762 to besiege Havana threatens everyone he holds dear.